Improvement in hoop-skirt wire



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l im* 3A v wm'sjs' Y v Inventor` UNITED STATES STILLMAN HOGHTON, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN HOOP-SKIRT WIRE.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,495, dated June 12, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

`Be it known that I, STILLMAN HoUGHroN, of the city and county of Worcester, and Gom monwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Skirt- Hoop Wire; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this speciiication, in which- Figure 1 represents a piece of steel Wire with my improvement applied thereto, and Fig. 2

represents a longitudinal section of a piece of steel wire with myimprovement applied thereto.

The common. mode ot' preparing the skirthoop wire for use is to take the iiattened wire, as seen at A, and cover it with some iibrous material, the most common mode being to braid cotton yarn or thread uporI the wire, as seen ata in the drawings. There are some objections to wire so covered, owing to the fact that the fibrous material is liable to wear oft', especially from the lower or bottom hoops. Again, with hoops thus made, when broken, the ends at once protrude, and are often a source of great inconvenience to the wearer.

My improvement consists in applying a braided plated-wire covering on top of the iibrous covering, as seen at b. This braided plated-wire covering not only adds much to the appearance of the hoop, but securely protects the iibrous covering from wear, while at the same time preventing the protrusion of the ends of the wire A, should the wire become broken while in use. Again, the Wire A, when so covered, is not so liable to break, owing to the fact that the braided-wire covering forms an elastic guard or casing to such au extent as to prevent any short bending or curvatures in the wire A, which is the main cause of its breakin gafter being made into hoops for skirts.

It will be observed that the diamond-shaped meshes formed by the braiding of the plated wire give to the finished hoop a beautiful appearance, while, in case one of the plated wires becomes broken, it cannot unbraid, but is retained in position.

Having described my invention, whatIclaim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent as an improved article of manufacture, 1s-

Slrirt-hoop wire first covered with a fibrous material, and then a braided plated-wire covering or casing applied thereto, substantially as shown and described.

STILLMAN HOUGHTON.

Witnesses:

TEos. H. DODGE, H. L. FULLER. 

